The Top Fuel final was over before it began as Paul Romine left the line
early, allowing Litton to coast to an easy 4.842/257.80 win.

"This has been a great weekend and race for the team," said
an elated Litton. "I have truly been blessed with the best car and
the best crew. The WIX Filters team is dedicated to hard work and getting
as much luck as we can along the way.

"I thought I saw Paul redlight and was fortunate to win the race.
When you race Paul you know he's always going to be there."

Romine, who failed to qualify for the 1999 race and spent the race as a
television commentator was philosophical about the loss.

"The CARQUEST team was ready for the Empire Nationals, trust
me!" Romine said, "Last year's event was a disaster for us. Not
only did I want to win for my sponsor, but right now, the IHRA Top Fuel
field is the most competitive its been in a long time. We needed the
victory to stay ahead of (Bruce) Litton, (Clay) Millican and (Jim) Bailey.
I congratulate Bruce and we'll get ready for Michigan."

After five events, Romine narrowly leads Litton in the quest for the
$200,000 Top Fuel championship purse, 543 to 537 points.

Millican, third in IHRA Top Fuel points (448) lost to Litton's WIX Filters
dragster in the semis by nine-thousandths of a second, about four feet.
"The run itself was pretty good," commented Millican. "The
car made a good lap and I lost by nine thousandths; it reminded me of some
of my losses when I raced in Modified. I lost on the tree."

Romine moved into the final by defeating Jim Head, who redlit.

IHRA's Pro Modified class has been the source of controversy over the new
rules directed toward slowing the blown cars. Prior to the event, the
supercharged combination was hit with a new set of regulations that
mandated that all would have to run a three-speed transmission and a 4.57
or less rearend gear ratio. Additionally the blown cars were increased in
weight by 50 pounds while the nitrous-injected entries were granted a
weight break of the same.

When the flurry of controversy cleared, it provided a storybook final
round with two of the each engine combination's most outspoken drivers
meeting in the final. Quain Stott, 40, of Inman, SC., defeated the radical
1949 Mercury owned by Native American Johnny Rocca and driven by
Australian Troy Critchley. Rocca's entry is powered with a supercharged
engine.

"They (blower cars) probably feel the same way about these rules as
we did about the introduction of the high-helix blower in 1998,"
explained Stott, whose last victory came at the 1999 CARQUEST Autumn
Nationals. "It looks like these rules are hurting them as much as it
hurt us back in 1998."

Jimmy Rector defeated Scott Weney in the Funny Car final, 5.941/226.47 to
6.092/182.29. Weney's body separated from the chassis at 1200 feet
following a blower explosion, with Rector taking evasive action to miss
the body as it crashed down on the track."

"I thought I saw the body fly by me and it was close," said the
Vernon, Alabama who moved into third place in the IHRA Summit points.
"I moved her to the side of the track."

Rector, who recently celebrated his 37th birthday and drove a Top Fuel
dragster for the first time as a birthday present, will contest IHRA races
at Epping, Rockingham and Shreveport in both Top Fuel and Funny Car.

"I'll drive the Top Fuel car as much as they'll let me,"
explained Rector. "Obviously, my first priority is winning the Funny
Car championship in 2000."

Rector is third in points, with 377 points, behind Von Smith with 394 and
Scott Weney with 438.

Jay Turner won his third Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley race of the season,
defeating Doug Vancil in the final, 6.637/209.01 to 6.596/207.08. Turner,
the Nitro Harley points leader has won the Empire Nationals title two
years in a row.

"This is the first time we have ever repeated and it's special. The
racing gods smile on you some days and this was one of them," added
the Whitsett, NC native.

Cordova winner Steve Stordeur and runner-up Johnny Mancuso were eliminated
in the first round, putting Team Mancuso on the trailer early. "It
shows how competitive Nitro Harley is," said a dejected Mancuso.
"One week you're the hero, the next week you're the goat."

Turner, who celebrated his 34th birthday at New York International has
built a big lead in Screamin' Eagle Nitro Harley, leading Mancuso 526 to
393.

Ron Miller pulled off a Pro Stock "hat trick," winning his third
Sunoco Pro Stock race in a row by defeating John Montecalvo 6.723/206.23
to 6.692/207.42. The Lebanon, Ohio engine builder holds a narrow lead over
Montecalvo in the points, 427 to 394.

"The car is consistent and working well," exclaimed Miller.
"When you're on a roll, good things happen. The Moser crew is working
well together but there is still a long way to go in the
championship."

In Pro Outlaw, Mike Decker of Louisville, KY won his first race ever,
defeating Mick Snyder 6.122/218.44 to 6.189/223.60 in the final. Decker,
runner-up at the Amalie Oil Summer Nationals in Cordova, has become a
contender for the Pro Outlaw title in his Spitzer/Chevy, trailing points
leader Laurie Cannister by 89 points, 349 to 438.

"I knew I had to stay focused, because Mick is tough," said
Decker. "But I've been number one qualifier for the last two races
with my Jim Lyons prepared engines and felt this could be my day.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time," Decker added.
"It was my turn and I earned it. My dad and I have four bottles of
champagne waiting for us at the trailer. After all, he's the guy who made
this possible."

The finals of the Empire Nationals were delayed by a steady drizzle that
set the schedule back two hours.

The next race in the Summit Drag Racing Series is the CARQUEST Northern
Nationals at the Mid Michigan Motorplex, Stanton, MI, August 4-6, 2000.

LEICESTER, N.Y. -- Sunday's final results from the 12th annual CARQUEST
Empire Nationals at New York International Raceway Park, the fifth of 11
events in the IHRA Summit Drag Racing Series:

LEICESTER, N.Y. -- Point standings (top 5) for IHRA professional
categories following the 12th annual CARQUEST Empire Nationals at New York
International Raceway Park, the fifth of 11 events in the IHRA Summit Drag
Racing Series: